


Burn

by Semi_problematic



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Codependency, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-18 15:54:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18253052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semi_problematic/pseuds/Semi_problematic
Summary: The embers blew out but their love did not.





	Burn

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!! Idk if any of you noticed how I was gone for two months basically but I am back!! I had a lot of debate and in between debate tournaments I found myself struggling to write what I wanted and not what others wanted. I also began writing an original story with lesbians!!! So yeah!!! That's a little update. Enjoy something I wrote in 5 minutes.

Wind rustled around them, the fire slowly being blown out. Glowing embers lay close to the dirt and Carl found himself counting them. Rick was awake next to him, poking at the dying flame in hopes of keeping it burning. 

"You scared of the dark?" Carl whispered, looking up at Rick. His face glowed in the light, a warm yellowish red. He hadn't shaved for days and his lips were chapped. A gash ran down his forehead from falling as they ran. 

Rick chuckled to himself and shifted away from Michonne. For days she insisted on watching. Tonight, Rick forced her to bed, telling her that he will watch over the two of them. "Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking over at Carl. "You should be asleep."

Carl nodded. "I can't." He wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling the truth. Michonne watched because Carl couldn't sleep without Rick. Even in Alexandria, Carl slipped into the bed and laid close to him while Michonne slept down the hall. 

"I knew I shouldn't have brought you on this run-" Rick shook his head to himself, dropping the stick. The embers were growing smaller, Carl could no longer make out the features of his father's face. Not that he needed to. He had them memorized.

"I wanted to come." Carl pushed himself up, leaning against the log Rick sat on. "I don't want to be weak. Hiding behind those walls makes you weak-"

"It makes you safe." Rick replied, his hand reaching out and rubbing Carl's head. He pushed his bangs back and looked down at him. "Relaxing isn't weak." 

"Yeah, it does." Carl whispered. He rested his chin on his father's thigh. Despite being sixteen, he clung to his dad. Rick was safety. Rick was his home. "You told me I would never be safe. No matter how safe it looked, it will never be real. The world isn't safe anymore." 

Rick let out a breath he had been holding and dropped his hand from Carl's head. "Sometimes... I think I do more damage than good with you." Rick slid off the log and wrapped his arms around Carl. He cradled the boy into his lap, kissing his temple and breathing him in. "You can relax, Carl. I got you."

"I got you." Carl whispered, gripping Rock's shirt. "Nothing is gonna take you away from me. No Negan. No walkers. Nothing." 

Rick smiled against Carl's skin. "Nothings gonna take you from me. We... we are safe. We just have to comply-"

"He killed us." 

Rick took a sharp breath. "He did. But... not us, Carl. We... we can learn and grow and change. Fighting back this soon... isn't the right move." 

"Nothing is stopping him." Carl whispered. There was no reason for Negan to not kill them. He liked to play with them, see their reactions as he killed one of their own. "We need to fight."

"I'm not risking it." Rick whispered. "I... keeping you safe is priority. Then Alexandria." 

"Does that mean Alexandria will burn before you let go of me?" Carl studied his father. The embers died out. He focused on his breathing. The way his heart raced. 

"Carl..." Rick's fingers tangled in his hair. "The world will burn before I let go of you."


End file.
